Nicolò Quirico's Palazzi di Parole
John Hill
14. August 2014
National Theatre London, the Shed temporary theatre by Haworth Tompkins. Photo: Nicolò Quirico
So much architectural photography has a perfected sheen to it, but the architectural images of Italian artist Nicolò Quirico, on display at Costantini Art Gallery in Milan, have a patina that arises from them being printed on pages from old books.
Through this media, the Palazzi di Parole series that Quirico has been working on since 2010 (most recently in a large collection of photos of the buildings and cityscape of London aptly titled London Calling) creates, in the words of historian Roberto Mutti, "not random references – though sometimes cryptic or mysterious – because the books were chosen by the author so to create a harmony with the subjects portrayed." The overlapping images and words and the yellowing paper also bring to the fore notions of time and the evolution of the city through new architecture. The layering of buildings over text is a unique stance that Quirico has come to perfect, but of course it is best seen up close and in person. The Spemuta per l'estate show, of which the artist's collaged photos are a part, is on display at Costantino Art Gallery until September 6, 2014.